India's NALCO may shut alumina unit as coal runs out

BHUBANESWAR, India, July 29 (Reuters) - India's state-run National Aluminium Co Ltd may be forced to shut one of its alumina refineries in a few days due to a coal shortage, its chairman and managing director said on Tuesday. NALCO, India's second-biggest aluminium producer, has been plagued by coal shortages and its reserves fell to critical levels after state-owned Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd cut daily supplies by 14-29 percent from 14,000 tonnes. "We are running the Damanjodi refinery with about 1,000 tonnes per day against 2,500 tonnes the company requires for its normal operation," C.R. Pradhan told Reuters. Last month, shrinking coal supplies forced NALCO to shut one of seven power units that run its smelters in Angul in the eastern state of Orissa, where Damanjodi is also situated. "At present, we have a (coal) stock which can last for only the next few days. If we do not get coal on time, we may have to shut down the alumina refinery," Pradhan said. The Damanjodi refinery gets coal from Mahanadi and South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. "We maintain a buffer stock of 40 to 50 thousand tonnes. Because of the short supply we are forced to eat into our stocks," said Pradhan.